A “new era” of offering what Apple designed and sold over 4 years ago.

Then Apple undercut everyone on price, offering an SSD model for far less than the competition. The Air is a runaway success.

And now some PC makers are moving forward, stepping up to offer knock-offs (cheap plastic and lacking OS X and Thunderbolt, typically) but not succeeding in the market. The MacBook Air is doomed? Unless, maybe, yet another evolution of the MacBook Air is on the way...

You got that right. The last 5 years has been nothing but Apple breaking ground and the rest grabbing shovels to follow.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Intel played a pivotal role in designing the form factor the MBA currently has. In fact, they were the ones that presented Apple with the original chassis design. Of course, Apple went on to do the thing it does best and make a beautiful product.

If anything, it's the rest of the PC industry that's scrambling to push out their own versions of the MBA. Intel itself hasn't "stolen" anything, and deserve credit for the millions invested in R&D.

Promoting this new category of Ultrabooks is simply the next evolutionary step, where PC vendors are dying to get aboard. The only difference is that Apple doesn't need Intel to help promote the MBA. Apple is their own marketing powerhouse. Either way, this is a win for Intel.

In reality, Intel and Apple collaborated very closely on the original MBA design. Apple may have lead the aesthetics of the MBA, but it was actually Intel that designed the component architecture. Source: I work in this industry.

Possibly, but who drove the design spec? It's not like Intel came to Apple saying "we'd like to make a chipset for an extremely lightweight, extremely thin laptop with great battery life and a solid state drive. Would you care to design a case for something like that?"

Apple wanted to make the Air, and tasked Intel with making something that would hit Apple's desired parameters. At the time, as you may recall, the Air was dismissed as a niche machine, a typical example of Apple's obsession with thinness and lightness over practicality.

Then, when it turns out that the Air is a huge hit, Intel turns around and takes the stuff Apple had them design and starts touting it for the PC, complete with discounts.

If there was ever a chance that Apple might have considered any of Intel's forthcoming ULV chips for the iPad, I think we can safely kiss it goodbye.

They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.

It is quite strange that Intel is putting so much energy/money behind this, i mean, they build processors, just processors. Wouldn't they be happy regardless of what they end up in? If they think they are going to get tons of people to buy ultrabooks in addition to a regular pc, what are they smokin'? At best, people who would be buying a laptop might opt for an Ultrabook, but then, what's the difference really? Nothing, that's what.
Ok, so they are... thinner...
And I also don't get why Intel says that Ultrabooks are better than Macbook Air's... again, what's the difference, just the OS, no?

Possibly, but who drove the design spec? It's not like Intel came to Apple saying "we'd like to make a chipset for an extremely lightweight, extremely thin laptop with great battery life and a solid state drive. Would you care to design a case for something like that?"

Apple wanted to make the Air, and tasked Intel with making something that would hit Apple's desired parameters. At the time, as you may recall, the Air was dismissed as a niche machine, a typical example of Apple's obsession with thinness and lightness over practicality.

Then, when it turns out that the Air is a huge hit, Intel turns around and takes the stuff Apple had them design and starts touting it for the PC, complete with discounts.

If there was ever a chance that Apple might have considered any of Intel's forthcoming ULV chips for the iPad, I think we can safely kiss it goodbye.

I agree with you. It definitely was Apple's extremely strict requirements for the MBA that pushed Intel to develop this new architecture. If it weren't for Apple, it may have never taken off like it has today.

It's the PC vendors that are taking advantage of situation. Their mentality is: Apple made it work, so why not us? As a result, they're using Apple's MBA as a model they can piggyback off of. They are way late to the game for sure, and by then, Apple will have come out with something far better.

In the meantime, Intel can make a ton of money by selling their chips to everyone else playing catchup.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Intel played a pivotal role in designing the form factor the MBA currently has. In fact, they were the ones that presented Apple with the original chassis design.

So you have no proof and you use yourself as a source yet haven't commented on what role Intel had with designing the MBA. That's suspect.

We know that Intel had created the SFF chipset prior to the MBA (IDF, April 2007). It's rumoured that Intel never put this chip into production because there was no market for it until Apple made one, much like Corning's Gorilla Glass.

I have not heard nor seen anything that involves collaboration with the MBA design, only the SFF package that Intel created independently of Apple.

This bot has been removed from circulation due to a malfunctioning morality chip.

What part of "Post-PC" does Intel not understand. They're leading a dead army into a losing war. There is no Wintel market for MBA look-a-likes. it's simply an MBA market in a post PC world. Intel can't turn back time no matter how Ultra hard it tries!

They keep creative people (actors, film makers etc) in work, which is good.

I also think this will help more than hurt Apple. It drives the PC industry to thin and light machines so will encourage adoption of technologies like Thunderbolt in some cases, removal of optical drives, SSD and lower-powered designs.

You can see how much the industry hates anything and everything Apple does. We saw this with Thunderbolt. If it's seen as Intel's idea, well that's ok apparently.

In reality, Intel and Apple collaborated very closely on the original MBA design. Apple may have lead the aesthetics of the MBA, but it was actually Intel that designed the component architecture. Source: I work in this industry.

Which means nothing (that you "work in this industry").

You could even be working for Apple, and unless you were on the very specific team designing the MBA, you would know nothing about it's design or internals until it was unveiled.

They keep creative people (actors, film makers etc) in work, which is good.

Wow!! Outstanding!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin

I also think this will help more than hurt Apple. It drives the PC industry to thin and light machines so will encourage adoption of technologies like Thunderbolt in some cases, removal of optical drives, SSD and lower-powered designs.

You can see how much the industry hates anything and everything Apple does. We saw this with Thunderbolt. If it's seen as Intel's idea, well that's ok apparently.

And at the first sight everybody would think the Boy walks in with a MBA.
I guess this might also add to the aspects that are beneficial for Apple.

In reality, Intel and Apple collaborated very closely on the original MBA design. Apple may have lead the aesthetics of the MBA, but it was actually Intel that designed the component architecture. Source: I work in this industry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by supabooma

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Intel played a pivotal role in designing the form factor the MBA currently has. In fact, they were the ones that presented Apple with the original chassis design. Of course, Apple went on to do the thing it does best and make a beautiful product.

If anything, it's the rest of the PC industry that's scrambling to push out their own versions of the MBA. Intel itself hasn't "stolen" anything, and deserve credit for the millions invested in R&D.

Promoting this new category of Ultrabooks is simply the next evolutionary step, where PC vendors are dying to get aboard. The only difference is that Apple doesn't need Intel to help promote the MBA. Apple is their own marketing powerhouse. Either way, this is a win for Intel.

I see a post count of four. And two suggest that Intel deserves credit for the inspiration, design, and overall success of the MBA. You say you work in this industry. Does that you are an Intel-hired troll?

They are all using the same chips from what i know, it is just that they know when Apple is going to release their products since they send Apple chips. Plus, Apple has different displays.

There's a lot more involved than that. Look at Apple's touchpads compared to everyone else's. An ultralight device like the MBA or Ultrabook depends very greatly on integration of the components. It is very much a case of 'the whole being greater than the sum of the parts' in Apple's case. In the case of some of the competition, the opposite appears to be true.

In spite of using the same chips, it is clear that many of the Ultrabooks are greatly inferior products, some at roughly the same price as the MBA. There are also some Ultrabooks that are greatly inferior at lower price. There really aren't any that are demonstrably superior, and certainly not at the same price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drblank

Apple is not planning on leaving Intel for AMD. They aren't going to use ARM for their laptops/desktops in the foreseeable future.

And that's exactly what I said in the post you were responding to. I was laying out all the possible scenarios to show the net result in different scenarios.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBillyGoatGruff

I see a post count of four. And two suggest that Intel deserves credit for the inspiration, design, and overall success of the MBA. You say you work in this industry. Does that you are an Intel-hired troll?

Or maybe just another of the mindless "attack Apple in any way you can even if you have to make things up" trolls that seem to frequent this place.

"I'm way over my head when it comes to technical issues like this"Gatorguy 5/31/13

I don't understand the branding strategy behind this. Why would Intel claim the rights to the name Ultrabook, when actually they just make the chips and boards that goes into the Ultrabooks that are manufactured by PC vendors. In the end, consumers still aren't going to call them Intel Ultrabooks, instead they'll still refer to the vendor's brand.

I don't understand the branding strategy behind this. Why would Intel claim the rights to the name Ultrabook, when actually they just make the chips and boards that goes into the Ultrabooks that are manufactured by PC vendors. In the end, consumers still aren't going to call them Intel Ultrabooks, instead they'll still refer to the vendor's brand.

Its really easy to understand. Ultrabook is a category type powered by Intel. Intel wants to dominate this category before amd can release a suitable chip to compete

I see a post count of four. And two suggest that Intel deserves credit for the inspiration, design, and overall success of the MBA. You say you work in this industry. Does that you are an Intel-hired troll?

What part of "Post-PC" does Intel not understand. They're leading a dead army into a losing war. There is no Wintel market for MBA look-a-likes. it's simply an MBA market in a post PC world. Intel can't turn back time no matter how Ultra hard it tries!

MBA and Ultrabook are all powered by INTEL
Next will be Intel powered phones and tablets

Or maybe just another of the mindless "attack Apple in any way you can even if you have to make things up" trolls that seem to frequent this place.

Mindless attack? Not once did I attack Apple. It just seems people think to think that Intel just "handed off" the chipset to Apple, which is simply not true.

Sure, on the internet anyone can claim to be anyone. I do not work for Apple nor Intel, but I can say that I've worked directly with the Intel team that submitted the mechanical wireframes for the MBA. Just because this kind of information hasn't been published on some rumor site, doesn't mean it hasn't happened. In other words, not everything has a source to quote from. So just take my comments with a grain of salt.

I've been a long time follower of this site. No, I don't post on a daily basis, but that does not make me a troll.

You mean that lack of an ODD that is still part of the MBA line and creeping into all PC releases.

2007 TZ was made of carbon fiber which is lighter and stronger than aluminum.
I used the first macbook air. SUCKED Balls. OSx ran slow. 13" macbook was a far better deal.
Ultrabooks is one market of many for laptops. I use apple products but I buy products that suits my needs and having things on DVD is what I need.

In reality, Intel and Apple collaborated very closely on the original MBA design. Apple may have lead the aesthetics of the MBA, but it was actually Intel that designed the component architecture. Source: I work in this industry.

The original MacBook Air maybe. Not the current. So your comment is misleading.

I did specifically say the original MBA, so not sure how it's misleading.. but yes, original, not current.

Your right, you did state that it was the original MBA.
The point is that the current MBA is very differnt from the original, so, I should have said that your statement is irrelevant instead of misleading.

Keep believing that. They won't know what hit them.
ARM and PowerVR are a formidable opponent for Intel.

J.

Intel is also using powerVR for its first generation phones (single core 2012) and also in its next generation (dual core 2013). By the third generation (late 2013 to early 2014) you will see them use their own integrated graphics. 2014 is when Intel start to dominate. Their current single core beats all dual cores except for the S4 and in some test against the tegra 3

Intel designs and fabricates their on IC while ARM only designs and relies on others to produce. Qualcomm is more of an intel competitor than arm and PowerVR.

I don't understand the branding strategy behind this. Why would Intel claim the rights to the name Ultrabook, when actually they just make the chips and boards that goes into the Ultrabooks that are manufactured by PC vendors. In the end, consumers still aren't going to call them Intel Ultrabooks, instead they'll still refer to the vendor's brand.

IMO, Intel is pushing this not so much for consumers to think of Intel as much as pushing a product category that can compete with tablets. I think Intel fears that most sales in the consumer market are going to be thin, light laptops like the Air or tablets like the iPad. Due to that, Intel has to inject some money and excitement for the other OEMs to offer these ultrabooks (hopefully at lower prices) so that consumers continue to purchase kit that has Intel chips in them and not ARM.

IMO, Intel is pushing this not so much for consumers to think of Intel as much as pushing a product category that can compete with tablets. I think Intel fears that most sales in the consumer market are going to be thin, light laptops like the Air or tablets like the iPad. Due to that, Intel has to inject some money and excitement for the other OEMs to offer these ultrabooks (hopefully at lower prices) so that consumers continue to purchase kit that has Intel chips in them and not ARM.

Except that Intel already provides the chips for a thin, light laptop like the Air-- the Air itself.

Now I can see them trying to goose PC sales by encouraging manufacturers to adopt form factors that Intel figures might generate some excitement, since the manufacturers themselves seem amazingly immune to this concept. And clearly the Air has some buzz, so even though it mean transferring technology form one customer to another and offering a discount, which strikes me as kind of sketchy, I can certainly see their motivation.

What I don't quite get is going out their way to claim that such machines will beat Apple at their own game and surpass the Air. What is the point of that? Every Air sold is a win for Intel, getting people to by a PC instead of an Air is a net zero for Intel.

Clearly it's the iPad that has them spooked, so maybe they figure that they can just lump the Air in the with the iPad and try to ween people off Apple altogether. Or maybe they know Apple plans an ARM Air at some point, and this is preemptive on their part.

But if it's not, and as I've said, they better be pretty damn confident that they have the correct solution for low power devices going forward, because if they don't, they've just declared that they're no longer interested in doing business with the biggest CE company in the world.

They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.

Except that Intel already provides the chips for a thin, light laptop like the Air-- the Air itself.

Now I can see them trying to goose PC sales by encouraging manufacturers to adopt form factors that Intel figures might generate some excitement, since the manufacturers themselves seem amazingly immune to this concept. And clearly the Air has some buzz, so even though it mean transferring technology form one customer to another and offering a discount, which strikes me as kind of sketchy, I can certainly see their motivation.

What I don't quite get is going out their way to claim that such machines will beat Apple at their own game and surpass the Air. What is the point of that? Every Air sold is a win for Intel, getting people to by a PC instead of an Air is a net zero for Intel.

Clearly it's the iPad that has them spooked, so maybe they figure that they can just lump the Air in the with the iPad and try to ween people off Apple altogether. Or maybe they know Apple plans an ARM Air at some point, and this is preemptive on their part.

But if it's not, and as I've said, they better be pretty damn confident that they have the correct solution for low power devices going forward, because if they don't, they've just declared that they're no longer interested in doing business with the biggest CE company in the world.

Two things to consider:
1) Apple is outpacing the other OEMs while the sales growth for computers is declining YoY. That's great, but I'm pretty sure Intel doesn't want to rely on Apple solely for growth. Intel is banking on taking a popular design and handing it over to the other OEMs using windows to ramp up overall computer sales.
2) The iPad isn't the only ARM worry Intel has. Windows will be releasing an ARM version of Windows 8 this year.

It is quite strange that Intel is putting so much energy/money behind this, i mean, they build processors, just processors. Wouldn't they be happy regardless of what they end up in? If they think they are going to get tons of people to buy ultrabooks in addition to a regular pc, what are they smokin'? At best, people who would be buying a laptop might opt for an Ultrabook, but then, what's the difference really? Nothing, that's what.
Ok, so they are... thinner...
And I also don't get why Intel says that Ultrabooks are better than Macbook Air's... again, what's the difference, just the OS, no?

I was just thinking about this when I read your comment and it hit me: Intel is scared shitless of tablets. Because none of those devices run intel chips, and Intel doesn't even seem close to offering a serious competitor to ARM's designs.

So Intel is "helping" its PC friends by helping them making their products sexier so they can compete better with tablets. It's a weird way of thinking but kind of makes sense from Inte's point of view. Intel doesn't have either software or hardware to compete with the iPad. They don't have the processor, they know full well that Win8 is a POS that won't sell any tablets, Android isn't using Intel either.... so what are they going to do?

Prop up PCs of course. Intel went on record to say that ultra books are "better" than tablets.

Intel doesn't care if they sell a processor in a MacBook Air or a PC Ultrabook. But they do care about tablets, and in absence of any serious x86 competition their primary worry is that Apple is right about the post-PC era. With good reason... I am hoping that while they're throwing money at the hapless PC makers, they're also intensely focused on creating an ARM alternative.

Long story short: The Ultrabook campaign is aimed squarely at tablets. And by tablets, I mean iPads.